Meet “Mr. Jane and Finch,” a 76-year-old activist who seems to live for this neighbourhood, even if he doesn’t live in it.

Winston LaRose stands at the intersection of Jane St. and Finch Ave. W., a neighbourhood often described as troubled. Advocate and activist, LaRose has left an indelibly positive mark on the community since 1994, earning him the affectionate nickname, "Mr. Jane and Finch."

By:Robin LevinsonStaff Reporter, Published on Tue Jun 25 2013

At the corner of Jane and Finch, ambulances wail and the pavement sizzles under the hot sun. But Winston LaRose stands calm and cool, overseeing all who pass by.

LaRose — known to many as Mr. Jane and Finch — is a kind of ambassador for the street corner. For almost 20 years, he has witnessed the crime, drugs and police raids, but he has also overseen the joys and the triumphs of the black community there.

For him, being called “Jane and Finch” is a badge of honour.

“This is my Jane and Finch, this is the place that I love,” he says.

Every morning, the 76-year-old former nurse commutes about two hours on the GO train and TTC, from his home in Burlington to his office in the Yorkgate Mall.

“I live in Jane and Finch and I sleep in Burlington,” he chuckles.

Although he has never lived at Jane and Finch, LaRose has adopted the community as his own, where he is an unofficial spokesperson for the community, serves as a mediator in neighbourhood disputes and helps locals access programs.

He joined the Jane Finch Concerned Citizens Organization, which helps local youths find internships and job training, in 1994 because he was worried the black community was being stigmatized by the parade of police cars going in and out of social housing, often in the news.

“He represents the community — the people that don’t have a voice,” said Karlene Silvera, a resident of the neighbourhood.

At just over five feet tall, LaRose has a spry build and gentlemanly manners, accented by his daily uniform: a full suit and tie and his signature checkered cap.

When George “Knia” Singh, who sits on the board of the Caribana Arts Group, first met LaRose, he was astounded by his passion and his presence. “Speaking to him is almost like speaking to a king or prince,” Singh says.

Having grown up in colonial Guyana, LaRose moved to Canada in 1964. He recalls trying to rent an apartment in Hamilton in the 1960s, only to have the door slammed in his face.

But LaRose believes that the only way to combat racism is to take pride in your heritage. He co-founded the Hamilton Guyanese Canadian Cultural Association in 1966, and is a member of the board of the Caribana Arts Group.

“I see myself in Jane and Finch as symbolizing the character of blackness and the contributions of black people to world civilization,” he says.

LaRose, who lost two of his five children to AIDS, often helps pay for community projects out of his own old-age pension.

He is part guidance counsellor, part ombudsman and part documentarian. He estimates that he has amassed over 2,000 hours of camera footage, many of it interviews with people who say they’ve been hassled by police.

More often than not, he finds himself advocating for community members with landlords, the courts and the police.

“If you sit here for half an hour, 20 people ask for him,” says Sattie George, the receptionist at Seneca College, where the Jane-Finch organization is given office space.

It’s hard to find a community centre or fundraiser in the neighbourhood that hasn’t been touched by LaRose, especially the Afrocentric Alternative School, which honoured him with an award for his community service last Friday.

At his home in Burlington, LaRose drags a red velvet chair to the courtyard of his apartment building to sit in the hot sun while he leafs through a thick binder filled with hundreds of thank-you letters and photographs.

His apartment is packed with memorabilia, including his medals from the 2010 Ontario Masters, where he competed in track and field; his Diamond Jubilee medal; and letters from the young people he’s mentored over the years.

One of these children, Jamal Hunte, is now applying to medical school and credits LaRose for always supporting his goals. LaRose got Hunte and his sister involved in public speaking at a young age, and helped Hunte get the recommendations he needed to get a scholarship to Upper Canada College.

“We lived in the Jane and Finch community,” said Wavney Hunte, Jamal’s mother, “and he launched my children out.”

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